1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cleaning implements and, more particularly, to cleaning implements that include a soap supply and a cleaning brush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A house has many areas that must be cleaned periodically. For purposes of overall health and sanitation, bathroom areas often require special cleaning efforts. In bathrooms, the toilet, the tub and shower, the walls, and the sink must all be cleaned. To efficiently remove dirt, a quantity of soap or detergent and a brush are often employed. The combination of soap and brush is so common that throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to devices which combine both soap and a brush, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,932,909, 4,397,056, 4,893,957, and 5,423,102. More specifically, each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,932,909 and 4,893,957 discloses a self-powered scrub brush. A person using this device provides a manual squeezing action to dispense soap to the brush portion of the device. Since the scrubbing action itself can be very laborious and tiring, it would be desirable if a cleaning brush did not require a manual pumping action to dispense soap at a cleaning brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,056 discloses battery-power assisted toilet brush that moves a brush head in a reciprocal action and that dispenses soap to the brush head. Although soaping and scrubbing are important cleaning functions that are assisted by this device, another important cleaning function is not addressed by this device. The missing cleaning function is rinsing. Once dirt is scrubbed off of a surface, the dirt and soap must be rinsed away in order that the surface be clean. In this respect, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing scrub brush had means for rinsing a soaped and scrubbed surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,102 discloses a portable cleaning device that includes a motorized brush and a quantity of soap. This device does not have provisions for rinsing a soaped and brushed surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,132 may be of interest for its disclosure of a reciprocating brush that is powered by a stream of pressurized water. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 308,443 may be of interest for its disclosure of a non-soap-dispensing toilet brush.
Still other features would be desirable in a soap dispensing brush apparatus. To facilitate rinsing of a soaped and brushed surface, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus could be connected to a faucet to supply rinse water. Rather than have a person manually pump a quantity of soap to a brush head, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus could employ flowing water to suck up soap and transport it to a brush head. To prevent surfaces that are being rinsed from coming into contact with additional soap, it would be desirable if a manually controlled valve could cut off a flow of soap to a water stream. To provide efficient brushing action, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus included a powered brush.
There may be times when it would be desirable to employ a sponge-containing head rather than a brush head for certain purposes. In this respect, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus had a brush head that is readily removed and replaced with a sponge-containing head.
To be economical in both material and energy costs, to provide power to a brush head, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus were powered by an electric motor that is powered with rechargeable batteries.
An important feature of any implement is how it fits into a person's hand, that is how it is grasped. A pistol shape is a popular shape for a number of hand-held objects, and it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus had an overall pistol shape.
A pistol generally has a trigger, and a trigger-like switch operator is employed with a number of devices. In this respect, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus employed a trigger-like switch operator for controlling power to a brush head. It is noted that with a pistol shape, the hand grip portion is at an angle which ranges from a right angle to an obtuse angle with respect to the working end of the implement. In this respect, it would be desirable if a soap dispensing brush apparatus had a hand grip portion that is at an angle which ranges from a right angle to an obtuse angle with respect to the working end of the apparatus.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use soap dispensing brush devices, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a water and soap dispensing scrubber apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) does not require a manual pumping action to dispense soap at a cleaning brush; (2) has means for rinsing a soaped and scrubbed surface; (3) is connected to a faucet to supply rinse water; (4) employs flowing water to suck up soap and transport it to a brush head; (5) has a manually controlled valve that can cut off a flow of soap to a water stream; (6) includes a powered brush; (7) has a brush head that is readily removed and replaced with a sponge-containing head; (8) is powered by an electric motor that is powered with rechargeable batteries; (9) has an overall pistol shape; (10) has a hand grip portion that is at an angle which ranges from a right angle to an obtuse angle with respect to the working end of the apparatus; and (11) employs a trigger-like switch operator for controlling power to a brush head. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique water and soap dispensing scrubber apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.